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Preview: Match 26 – CSK v RR

Chennai Super Kings take on the Rajasthan Royals in Match 26 of DLF IPL 2012.

The defending champions are yet to live up to their high standards, but things are slowly starting to fall in place for Stephen Fleming’s wards. In their most recent match, CSK played their cards right and ended up victorious; they dropped the struggling Murali Vijay and promoted the under-utilised S Badrinath to open the innings. The opening partnership laid a solid platform for the middle-order to flourish, Dhoni promoted himself to No. 4 and his blitz in the final two overs ended up being the difference between the two teams.

Rajasthan Royals have stayed among the top four teams for most of the tournament so far. Underdogs in most contests, Rahul Dravid’s men have won four out of their six matches and have looked like the team to beat even though they don’t have too many stars in their line-up. In their most recent match, they pulled off a challenging – and improbable – run chase against the Deccan Chargers. Confidence levels will be high in the team, and given RR’s combination, this could turn out to be a very closely contested match.

When

Saturday, April 21, 2011, 04:00 p.m.

Where

MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

The Protagonists

Faf du Plessis from South Africa has been very impressive in his first IPL season. Despite his new role as an opener (he generally bats in the middle-order), and unfamiliar playing conditions, du Plessis has hit the mark. He is currently CSK’s leading run-getter and has made up for the absence of Michael Hussey and the lack of runs from the other end.

Suresh Raina and R Ashwin – two very important players in the CSK line-up – haven’t quite come to the party yet. Both players played huge roles in CSK’s run to the title last season, and though they’ve been chipping in, there hasn’t been anything substantial from them yet.

Ajinkya Rahane has been the standout performer in the IPL this season. There was no doubt that the 23-year-old had the technique or temperament; he has now proved that he can adapt to the demands of Twenty20 cricket. Playing within his limitations and with a copybook technique, he has still managed to take his game to a different level.

Having announced his retirement from all other formats of the game, Rahul Dravid is enjoying his cricket like never before; he has scored runs in almost every innings and has been an important contributor to RR’s success so far. In Owais Shah and Brad Hodge, RR have two of the most dangerous finishers in Twenty20 cricket. Both players have impressive T20 records and they’ve lived up to that billing.

Previous Meetings

Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super in each of the three meetings in the inaugural season – including in the title clash. However, since then MS Dhoni’s men have dominated the team from Jaipur by winning five of the six subsequent matches.

When these two teams met last season, CSK dominated RR on both occasions; they won their home fixture by eight wickets and then went on to defeat the Rajasthan Royals in their Jaipur fortress by 63 runs.

Trivia

• Prior to this season, Ajinkya Rahane had scored 268 runs in 20 IPL matches (16 innings). However, in six innings this season, he has already accumulated 304 runs.

• Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni is the only player to have captained a team in more than 100 Twenty20 matches (106 T20s in all).

What next?

After two home matches in three days, Chennai Super Kings will enjoy a brief break before travelling to Bengaluru to take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 25. Rahul Dravid’s boys will rush back home and prepare to host RCB on April 23.

Our bowling is improving: Nannes

Pacer says Royal Challengers Bangalore know they are a good side

By IPL Staff

Mohali 19 April 2012

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have had a slow start to DLF IPL 2012. They have lost three out of their five games in the tournament and are currently placed second from the bottom in the points table. However, with a team that has as much individual talent as RCB does, a turnaround of fortunes can only be imminent. Pacer Dirk Nannes echoed the same sentiment ahead of RCB’s crucial clash against Kings XI Punjab on April 20 in Mohali

Excerpts from Nannes’ media interaction:

On Adam Gilchrist not being available for KXIP:

I guess it is a boost, but there’s normally pretty good replacements in their overseas players. I guess, on one side you can say it’s a positive for our team, but you can always replace players. The player [replaced] will not be as good, but it will still be a pretty good team that they put out on the park.

On RCB not performing consistently:

I don’t think there is any need to make wholesale changes. You look at the games we’ve lost, a couple of games have been really close and we’ve been on the wrong side of the result. That has been unfortunate. But we know that we are a very good side and that there is no need to panic. On bowling being RCB’s weakness, as was the case in the last game against Pune Warriors India:

At the end of that bowling performance, I thought we bowled pretty well. A lot of people don’t understand that bowling in Bengaluru is hard work. It’s a small ground; the wicket plays beautifully if you are a batsman. And I thought, when we walked off the field, it was pretty much a par performance. The only thing we could have done is bowled a few shorter balls. I don’t think there is much need to panic with our bowling line-up. We have started to improve.

On whether there will be any changes in the side for tomorrow’s game:

I have no idea.

On not having got a game in the tournament:

It’s a bit frustrating, but you have to come into this tournament with an air of patience. You realize that there are so many good players around; and of the internationals, like you said, only four can play, which means that the rest are sitting on the side and wondering when they are going to get a game. But the tournament is so long, you are going to get a game eventually. Injuries happen; changes are made. You come here, the team is going to be different from the team that plays in Chennai. Everybody is going to get a go. It is frustrating, but the level of training that we do, and the enjoyment that we have, it is a good team to be around. Everyone stays positive. I could be upset and angry at not getting a game, but that’s not what our team is about. As long as we start winning games, everyone is going to be happy about their position. It doesn’t matter if you are playing or not.